Harry's Happy Cursing
by White Angel of Auralon
Summary: A mysterious illness spreads all over wizarding Britain. No healer knows the reason and they are helpless in finding a solution. Though once the truth about the origins of the sickness come out, people Change their tune quickly. Just a one-shot.


**Hi everyone. As I didn't manage to finish the next chapter for any of my current stories, you get to read this little one-shot that i wrote a while ago. Happy reading. As always, I don't own anything of the Harry Potter world, just the idea for this little Story.**

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><p><strong>Harry's Happy Cursing<strong>

His grin was manic. He had truly done it. He had managed to keep all the bastards that tried making his life hell in the dark and now it was time to screw them over for a change. Poor, manipulative, old Dumbledore. Thought he could control him and push him onto the path of a martyr. Poor, insane Tommy Boy. He actually thought that he was stronger than him and had a chance. Poor wizarding world. People actually believed that they could treat him like dirt and he would still fight for them. No, he let of an evil chuckle, it was time for him to show them how wrong they were. He wasn't a puppet, he wasn't a martyr, he wasn't a golden boy, he wasn't a scapegoat and he surely wasn't an idiot.

It was time to let his inner Marauder out to play. And when he was playing, others would be crying. He was going to turn things upside down, beginning with shattering the belief of the public in their symbols of light or dark.

If anybody had been able to compare the conditions of several 'well-respected' purebloods with each other, they might see a pattern. But then again, nobody would do so, as that ugly dark tattoo on their left forearms was the cause of their symptoms, which meant they couldn't go to public places like St. Mungo's to receive help. Even the stupid Minister would find something strange when so many of them had trouble thanks to the marks.

If anybody had been able to watch both the leaders of the sides of light and dark, they would have wondered why both were suffering from the same sickness. Both were forced to stay in bed, both were violently sick to their stomachs, both felt pain in all body parts, increasing and decreasing in level, running a high fever and prone to bleed from the smallest of injuries, which could already be caused by a soft touch of a finger. Their skins were seemingly paper-thin. And their respective healers didn't know how to help them. They tried finding out what illness it was, but both didn't recognise the illness. St. Mungo's best healers also didn't know what to do. They were consulted after one and a half weeks, as nothing the other healers did helped. So there was only working on the symptoms and hoping that they would recover.

At the hideout of Lord Voldemort there weren't any people left capable of taking care of the sick dark lord. They were all sick themselves if they had the dark mark. Some house elves did basic medical care, but as they didn't like their masters, they didn't more than their orders demanded. At Hogwarts, where Poppy Pomfrey was at the end of her wits, Albus Dumbledore had at least some care to make him feel a little better. As it were the Christmas holidays, there thankfully weren't many students remaining at the school. Most had gone home to get away from the horrible DADA teacher, Dolores Umbridge, who had been forced upon Dumbledore by the Minister of Magic. He only hoped that he would recover in time for the new term in January, or she would use his illness against him.

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><p>Harry Potter watched the events on his collection of two-way spy mirrors, which were put on each Death Eater thanks to his loyal elves Dobby and Winky. He had created the mirrors based on a description in a book of the best pranks that the Marauders had pulled during their time at school. His Dad had had one to talk to Sirius while they were in detention or to coordinate large area effect pranks properly. Harry thought bigger and had decided that knowledge was power and he wouldn't let certain people get power over him. He had put clues together since first year, which was more than fishy for a child that had learned to take nothing at face value, thanks to intolerant and ignorant relatives. It stunk like one big set-up to get him and Harry didn't allow people to get the better of him.<p>

So, pretending to not notice, he had learned things about magic that none of the other students knew. After meeting Dobby, he had put two and two together and had looked for the elves at Hogwarts. Thanks to their help, he had found the Room of Requirement, which supplied him with books and instruction about forgotten and incredibly useful magic. Like the curse he had put onto Voldemort and his bootlickers and, as the old man was a bastard as well, Dumbledore also got a curse for free.

The curse he had put on them was simple. The one being cursed would experience the pain and suffering that went along for each victim, whose life he had destroyed in one way or another, multiplied by four. That was the most you could risk, as higher levels tended to make the cursed person commit suicide. And that wasn't what Harry wanted. He wanted them to suffer the penalty for their actions. Thanks to the dark marks, all the Death Eaters were hit with the same curse as Voldemort. Such a pity that the mark posed a dangerous connection to Voldemort. While they would only suffer for their own crimes, the important part was the contamination with the curse anyway. He would have been hit too, had Dobby not told him about the dark magic in his scar and asked the house elf elders to remove the taint from Harry.

Wizards really underestimated house elves. The curse had been delivered by Lucius Malfoy ironically. As Dobby was a former Malfoy elf, he could easily pass through the wards of the Manor and he could also take people with him. Harry had cursed the whole sack of galleons that Malfoy planned to hand over to Voldemort the next day. He knew that Voldemort would want to ensure that it was the correct amount, therefore touching the coins and triggering the curse. It had really been a mistake of Voldemort to take Harry's blood. He could easily bind the curse to be triggered by the blood being in close contact. It took only ten minutes to have all coins charmed to be triggered and then to leave the manor again.

Shortly after the whole war was on hold, as the dark side was too sick to get out of bed. For Dumbledore Harry had had it even easier. He only had to put the curse on a bag of lemon drops, which he left at the entrance to the office. Sucker for the muggle sweets that Dumbledore was, he ate them, not knowing that the curse on the bag had been triggered. Moody would have shouted about 'Constant Vigilance' for not checking the bag for something like that. Well, with how long the two leaders had been in the game of destroying people's life, they were in for at least a month of pain and suffering.

And the next target was Umbridge, who would also get Fudge. Let's see how they liked being the ones to suffer.

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><p>Harry had to suppress a laugh when the Daily Prophet announced a mysterious, contagious illness that was going around wizarding Britain. Nobody knew how to treat it, but it seemed that for some reason certain people suffered worse than others. A list of symptoms was given, as well as known levels of suffering. For some reason purebloods seemed to be hit worse than for example halfbloods. Some might call it a conspiracy, but there wasn't any proof. Stupid. They couldn't even notice a curse, even if it was so old that the diagnostic charms were forgotten. Well, the 'illness' would run its course once all the guilt of a person was dealt with. The best part of the curse was after all, if you didn't destroy somebody's life again after you were through with the first time, you didn't get a relapse.<p>

So, in case of Tommy Boy, it would lead to him and his death munchers being ill for a very long time. Even crucioing his followers would cause a relapse for old Tommy. And, knowing their thickness, his Death Eaters would suffer again, and again and again. Such a fitting punishment. It was actually developed by Helga Hufflepuff. Everybody always thought that Hufflepuff was the nicest house of Hogwarts, boy were they wrong. Sure, if you didn't wrong a Hufflepuff, you were going to get along with them really well, but woe you if you turned against one of them. The whole house would turn to revenge and they wouldn't stop until the lesson had stuck.

Helga had wanted to find a way to punish a group of dark wizards that had ambushed a group of her sixth and seventh year female students, captured them and raped them many times. The girls had been emotionally broken and Helga had decided to pay them back in equal turns. She slipped them cursed items, which led to them contracting the curse. They had to experience the pain and suffering that they had brought upon dozens of girls and the people they had killed. Destruction of life came in more than one form. Those dark wizards in the end died from the curse. They wouldn't change their ways and if you relapsed for the third time, your heart would simply give out. Helga was all for giving second chances after a lesson was taught, but she didn't have endless patience. Sometimes you had to cut out a rotten piece of flesh to save the rest of the body. As a witch knowledgeable in battle healing, she knew that very well.

Looking around he could see people panicking, thinking that they would get that illness too. Well, they were safe unless they were Death Eaters. He wouldn't curse students for petty reasons. And being idiotic sheep that listened to the propaganda of the Ministry wasn't a crime severe enough to deserve this judgement curse.

On the side of lessons, DADA was self-study now, as Umbridge was violently sick in the hospital wing, he got her with a box of chocolate, supposedly from the Malfoys, Potions was a tutored class with the sixth-years teaching the lower years when they would normally have had DADA, sadly the tutors were much better at explaining things than Snape ever was and the grades would actually become better, and Transfiguration was cut down by one lesson per year, to allow Professor McGonagall act as interim headmistress while the headmaster was ill. Well, the level of his illness only proved that he had many skeletons in the closet.

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><p>Harry wanted to laugh out loud when he heard how Madam Pomfrey had finally found out what was going on with the ill ones. Professor McGonagall had found a covered and immobilised portrait of the founders in a side room of the headmaster's office and immediately taken it out and activated it again. After the indignation of the founders that Dumbledore had dared immobilising them a year after becoming headmaster (he didn't like their criticism against him and his argument that he was acting 'For the Greater Good') Professor McGonagall told them about the illness and Helga asked about the symptoms curiously.<p>

From what other portraits were spreading all over the castle, she had laughed herself sick, finding it very funny that nobody knew about the real reason anymore these days. In the end she explained the workings of the curse and why she had created it. It was fair judgement for your sins. If you didn't destroy anybody's life, you wouldn't even show a single symptom. If you did though, the more people you had harmed, the longer your suffering took. The fact that the ones in the hospital wing were already ill for over two weeks, meant that their sins were numerous and that they had about at least ten victims. Normally, with just one victim, the curse ran its course after three days. Two victims were five days and then it added on by smaller periods. But even if you didn't suffer proportionally longer for any new victim, the kind of damage you did and the number of victims would decide how much pain you experienced.

When asked what could be done, she told them that there was nothing that could be done if the caster of the curse didn't cancel it. And she also wouldn't tell them the way to find out who had done it. In her opinion, the ones suffering under the curse had deserved their fate. Harry could really agree with the witch. The information was passed to all other healers, which meant that the Daily Prophet soon also caught wind of it, and the response to the information was staggering. Knowing that the Hufflepuff founder had created this kind of curse, one that would judge you by the sins you actually committed, based on your own memories, made many turn against the victims, which they had previously pitied.

Finding out that to suffer for as long as most of these people did, you had to have destroyed numerous lives, examples of crimes ranged from killing over torture to rape, made many cry out to punish the cursed ones, once they were over the effects. It was basically a confession of guilt. Though many wondered who had been the one behind the curse.

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><p>Harry listened to Hermione prattle on about her theories who would do something so horrible, especially to Dumbledore, and Harry tuned her out. He didn't care for her authority worship. Alone that Dumbledore was in the hospital wing for that long, proved that he had been as bad as Voldemort. He may have been more subtle and used other methods, but the judgement was clear. Perhaps that would teach the old man a lesson that was long overdue.<p>

After three weeks the first ones finally came out of their symptoms but still needed to recover for a week. The constant vomiting had dehydrated them, even with potions, and they had to do rehabilitation. Though for many of them another trial was upon them in the near future. The DMLE, using the absence of the major roadblocks, was ready and had arrest warrants ready for all those that had suffered. Fudge was suspended from his office pending investigation, Umbridge was pulled from Hogwarts and countless 'upstanding purebloods' were rounded up and put into holding cells. Amelia Bones, the head of the DMLE, had got the position of interim Minister of magic, thanks to all those that had vehemently prevented somebody like her getting the position in the past being too sick to attend the emergency session of the Wizengamot. She acted swiftly and got important things done, among others a restructuring of the budget.

It was the regular budget meeting of January, but with those that always filled their own pockets missing, the budget for the first time in a decade was set to get the important departments better financing while the unimportant ones would have to cut back or move employees to departments that needed more personnel. It caused some protest, but the loudest critics of the shift were all sick.

The DMLE was also keeping an eye on the still sick patients. The massive horror of many that heard that Albus Dumbledore was still showing symptoms did more to destroy his reputation and carefully created image than any articles about him in the past had done. Amelia Bones had given the DMLE permission to question all the ones that had been sick for more than two weeks under veritaserum. After all, now there wouldn't be any potions in their systems anymore that would block the full effect and none of them would be in any state to use occlumency. It was a golden opportunity and Madam Bones was going to use it.

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><p>It was a sensation. The trials of the ones suffering from the curse had gone through one after the other. The only reprieve that the ones suffering got was one week to recover some strength for the trial, with their food and drinks being carefully monitored by healers under oath to prevent any tempering with the planned questionings. Death Eaters were discovered, lies about being imperiused were dismantled, bribery, assassination of political and economic opponents, torture, rape, murder, financial bankrupting and other crimes finally were dragged into the open. For the first time in half a century the veil of death was used again as a tool of execution. Those that had murdered and tortured using the unforgivable curses more than once were thrown through without exception. After all, Azkaban was too light for them as punishment. It didn't seem to be too deterring for them after all.<p>

Other than the Death Eaters, two others were also sent through. Umbridge and Dumbledore. It was found out that Umbridge had led a prostitution ring for muggleborns, which were forced to serve the sick fantasies of her clients, no matter what fetish they had. Next to that she had taken children that had been turned into werewolves from their parents, obliviated them and had the children killed with brutal methods. Other laws she had managed to get passed, thanks to Death Eater support, were found out and repealed. But her sick mind and her number of crimes made the Wizengamot decide on the veil for her.

Dumbledore's crimes surprised many and the trial had to be interrupted a few times to allow the spectators and the Wizengamot members to soothe their stomachs. Not only had Dumbledore been the mastermind behind Grindelwald until they got in a row over how to best take over the world, he had basically created Voldemort with his manipulations from the time he found the boy in an orphanage. It was telling that Dumbledore had suffered for two months before he could be put on trial. His goal was always ruling the wizarding world and having people worship him. And he had nearly achieved it. If not for the curse that had shown people without a doubt how rotten he was on the inside, that his grandfather persona was just a mask, he would have gone into history as the next coming of Merlin, the famous slayer of dark lords.

The plan for Voldemort was to let him take out the opposition that Dumbledore didn't like and distract attention from Dumbledore's own manipulations. He had paired people off for decades and most witches and wizards that had been born since the sixties were direct results of his plans. Couples were put together that wouldn't be able to challenge him. There were only a handful that resisted his manipulations. After all, he had many names he used to influence this person or that. Just a little glamour or polyjuice and he was able to plant subconscious commands into the minds of others. Even Tom Riddle became a victim. Dumbledore was the one to push him onto the path of dark lord, he just lost control over his puppet around the middle of the seventies, when he needed a new plan to get rid of him.

The whole prophecy was a scam to lure Voldemort to a place where he could be easily killed. It wasn't planned that the Potters survived, they were among those he couldn't control and who dared to question him. It was an easy decision to execute Dumbledore after he confessed all of his crimes. It would be too dangerous for them all, should he be allowed to live.

As a result of the thorough cleaning, things in the wizarding world changed. Sirius, as Peter was found among the sick, was cleared of all charges against him and, as he didn't want to work for the Ministry as an auror again, he took up the open position as Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts. Thanks to a new set of rules, Remus Lupin was allowed to return to teach Defence. He only had to leave the castle before the full moon rose and take wolfsbane potion. Normally Professor McGonagall covered the classes he couldn't teach the day after. She had taken over as headmistress and while she couldn't teach full time anymore, as she wanted to get Hogwarts back to old glory, she took over whenever another teacher was sick. She also offered specialised classes for those that wanted to learn how to become animagi.

Harry and Hermione were among those that signed up for them. Binns was replaced with a Canadian witch that had graduated from Salem and History of Magic was actually interesting now. Potions was taught by a returning teacher for the remainder of the year, Professor Horace Slughorn, who had agreed to fill in until the new teacher could start at the beginning of the next school year, as he was currently still under contract till July for his current employer. Divination was reduced to an option for those that had the gift of sight, but it wasn't an elective for everybody anymore.

Instead of that Professor McGonagall installed six new elective classes that could be taken from third or sixth year on. For third years they got the option to take Magical Architecture, Crafting and Politics. The sixth years could add Warding, Healing and Business Management to their subjects. Warding required OWLs in Ancient Runes, Charms and Arithmancy though, while Healing required DADA, Charms and Potions. The new classes would start from the next school year on and Hermione was already excited about the new options.

Next to new classes and better teachers for old ones, Professor McGonagall, learning from her own experiences, changed the way how many positions one teacher could take on. Therefore she declared that no head of house would be able to be deputy headmaster or –mistress. It was simply too much work for one person alone. She had let her duties as head of Gryffindor slip thanks to having to do three and half jobs, with Dumbledore also pushing some of his work onto her. To prevent that in the future the new deputy headmistress was Septima Vector, the teacher for Arithmancy, as all the heads of houses, including the newly minted head of Slytherin, Professor Sinistra, and of Gryffindor, Remus, wanted to keep their positions. Remus had been really touched that he was made head of Gryffindor. He had thought that as a werewolf he would never be trusted enough for that honour.

The simple argument that Professor McGonagall used to make him shut up on his feeble protests was pointing out her other options. Who in their right mind would make Hagrid or Sirius head of Gryffindor? Remus had to concede defeat at that and Sirius had laughed himself silly. He was quite happy to not be head of house and Remus was the more responsible one of the two of them.

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><p>Harry sat in the Room of Requirement, reading one of the books the room had presented him with, when he asked for something new to learn.<p>

"And, did you like the results of the solution to your problems that we showed you?" He heard a voice from his left.

He turned his head and smiled seeing the four ghostly forms of the founders walking towards him.

"Yes, Auntie Helga, it was perfect, just like you promised," Harry answered.

"I still can't believe that you came up with that curse and not me," Salazar grumbled.

"Well, you know that they say about badgers. Never anger one," Helga commented cheekily.

"I still wonder how wizards and witches forgot over time that Helga was the one that kept us others in line. I mean, she was famous for being the scariest witch of our time," Godric shook his head, "We would never have managed to found Hogwarts and make it into what we left for the future generations, if not for her understanding and occasional much needed literal kick in the rear."

"Aw, thank you Godric," Helga quipped grinning.

"People like to look for visible traits that are acknowledged. Loyalty and hard work aren't something that stand out immediately, but without them, nothing would ever get done. People laud the ones doing brave deeds, they praise scholars that find new ways to use magic and they know the cunning minds that win in politics, but in the end, without the backbone that those representing Helga's house are, the others would falter in the long run. The assistants that make sure the politician has all the information, the materials and covered his back, the ones cataloguing research materials, organising schedules and preparing ingredient stores or the ones behind the scenes that do all the real work," Rowena pointed out.

"I'm just very happy that you decided to help me when I didn't know what to do anymore. Thanks to the house elves I found this room, but on my own, there would only have been so much I could do," Harry addressed them, "Thank you very much for that."

"You're very welcome, Harry," Rowena said, "Now what are your plans for the future? Now that you got rid of the most evil bastards in this country."

"I'm going to enjoy my time here at Hogwarts and for once be a normal teenage boy. I want to experience what life can really give me. Voldemort, even if he wasn't found yet, won't be a problem anymore, as the curse will either kill him after too many relapses or he gives up being an evil git for good. Though I would put my money on the former. I'll watch how the new leaders will perform. Maybe they can make our world a better one. If not, I can use my position to help direct them onto the right path. Though walking it will be up to them. I won't become like Dumbledore and try to control everybody," Harry answered, "I'm going to shock everybody with my OWL results and then I'm going to take all three additional NEWT options. I wonder how Hermione will react to me doing Runes and Arithmancy in self-study," he chuckled.

"Probably she'll be torn between you not telling her and being happy that you take your studies more serious," Helga analysed, "Your friend is going to go through a hard time, getting to terms with her beliefs about authority figures being shattered by recent revelations. Just be supportive, but don't allow her to boss you around again. You're your own person and being a friend doesn't mean a right to decide what you friend should do."

"I will keep that in mind, Auntie Helga," Harry nodded.

He knew that the wizarding world was at crossroads. Things would change in the near future. So far the changes seemed promising. He would watch and only act when necessary. He had asked the Room of Requirement for a way to punish the ones that were guilty of horrible crimes without losing his soul to the dark and accidentally punishing innocents. The appearance of the founder's images was the result with them all testing if he was worthy to learn from them. After passing the test, he was taught the curse by Auntie Helga. Uncles Godric and Salazar suspiciously shuddered at the thought of the curse, but he still pulled through the training.

Now he was free of the two looming dangers to his life. Dumbledore and Voldemort were out of the picture. The worst criminals were dead or at Azkaban. The Death Eaters that had been at Azkaban at the time were dead, as the combination of the prison and the sickness had got them killed. He couldn't really be sorry for them. Their crimes condemned them, not he.

He could be a normal, even if powerful, teenager and have a normal life. As long as the world left him alone that was. Otherwise, he would perhaps show more magic that was thought to be lost. All at the right time.


End file.
